The Fifteen Percent

Book excerpt: Wall Street Journal and USA Today besteller! Lawyer turned entrepreneur Terry Giles explains what sets high achievers (“the fifteen percent”) apart from those who don’t quite make it. This is a riveting story of what it takes to win and keep winning—in business and in life—from one of America’s most successful entrepreneurs, with a foreword by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson. On the surface, Terry Giles has a classic American success story. By 30, he built one of the largest criminal defense firms and generated tens of millions in revenue working with high profile clients. By 34, he left the legal profession and achieved even greater success as an entrepreneur, seemingly overnight. But as Giles observes in The Fifteen Percent, no one goes through life without facing serious obstacles. Speaking from his own hard-won experience from a difficult upbringing to America’s loftiest boardrooms, Giles answers the question that took him years to answer: Why do some people overcome hardships while others do not? Citing research that fifteen percent of those individuals who face adversity and hardship are able to rise above the despair and succeed above all odds, Giles uses examples from his career and life to illustrate why and how this phenomenon occurs. From his childhood in the Missouri Ozarks, to defending the victims of child sex abuse, to creating a plethora of business enterprises, and even organizing a presidential campaign, he learns from experience the traits that define “the fifteen percent.” Even more important, in each chapter you will learn valuable skills including fearlessness; embracing under­dog status; visualizing the future; and positive thinking; proving that you do not have to be a victim of bad circumstances to adopt the superpowers of “the fifteen percent.” Entertaining, inspiring, and full of useful insights you’ll turn to again and again, The Fifteen Percent will help you overcome whatever’s holding you back, so you can achieve lasting success in business and in life.